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Dell Latitude E6230 review

This 12.5in laptop is a good choice for those needing to work while out on the road

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Our verdict

The Latitude E6230 crams a great deal of functionality into a stylish and compact system that exudes quality, making this system a good choice for those who need to take their work out on the road. Buyers may want a larger battery than is provided as standard.

The Latitude E6230 is the smallest model in Dell's updated E Series of corporate laptops, and offers mobile professionals an impressive system that combines excellent build quality with decent performance in a compact form factor.

Announced at the end of May and available to purchase now, the Latitude E6230 is effectively an ultraportable system (not to be confused with ultrabooks), sporting a 12.5in display and a starting weight of just 1.38kg. This model supersedes the earlier E6220 model.

Despite its relatively compact dimensions, the laptop feels reassuringly solid thanks to its tri-metal chassis and extensive use of brushed aluminium, and offers a range of battery options for traveling users.

A built-in HSPA+ mobile broadband adapter will also appeal to mobile users, who can stay connected when Wi-Fi and Ethernet are not available.

It also packs a decent punch, with a choice of Intel Core i5 vPro processors, up to 8GB of memory, and hard disk choices including Sata drives up to 320GB or solid state disks (SSDs) up to 256GB.

Our review unit was fitted with the 2.6GHz Core i5-3320M, a dual-core processor supporting hyperthreading, 4GB of memory and a 128GB SSD. It also came with a 65Whr extended battery rather than the standard 32Whr unit, which sticks out from the rear of the case and bumps up the weight to 1.65kg.

The main rivals for the Latitude E6230 are Lenovo's ThinkPad X Series models, such as the X220 reviewed by V3 last year, which was similar in size and weight and had a similar focus on business features in a compact chassis.

Like the Lenovo model, Dell's new ultraportable sports a 12.5in display with a native resolution of 1366x768 pixels, with an optional webcam located above the screen.

The E6230 also has key enterprise management and security features, including support for Intel's vPro technology, smartcard and fingerprint sensor authentication, and Dell's ControlVault, which stores security keys and credentials just like a Trusted Platform Module (TPM).